That Time of Year
by Prince Darkcloud
Summary: Its Christmas time again at the Peace Maine Boarding school, and another new drama is stirring. Its only a week till christmas, and anything can happen. SanjixZoro and slight other pairings. Sequel to "Once Upon a Crazy Christmas"
1. It's Been a Year

**December 18 - 7 Days till Christmas**

Christmas spirit tickled the wintry air of this fine Sunday, spreading a bit of holiday cheer throughout the students of the Peace Main Boarding school. Just like the year before, several of the students were unable to go home for the holidays, so they remained within the comfortable confines of the campus.

Everyone was milling about, enjoying the freshly fallen snow, or hurrying along to get to the lunchroom before it closed for the holidays.

However, despite everyone's apparent cheer, there was one gloomy soul that had locked himself up in his room and was nestled beneath the sheets, refusing to greet the day.

"Oi! Zoro!" There was a knock on the door before Luffy came barging in. "Let's hurry up and go to get lunch before they close!" He looked down at the lump on the bed and sighed. "You can't stay in here forever."

"Shut up. Go away." Zoro mumbled, rolling over so he faced the wall before pulling the blankets up over his head.

"Hey now," Luffy quirked an eyebrow, "how long are you gonna be upset like this for?"

"I said go away."

Luffy plopped down next to the irritated lump and gently punched him in the back a few times. "You can't stay depressed forever."

"Luffy, just leave me alone. Go get food by yourself. 'M not hungry."

Luffy sighed exasperatedly, "Just because he broke up with you that doesn't mean you should lock yourself up in your room." He pulled the blankets off the sulking marimo. "It's been over a week now. This isn't like you."

Zoro rolled back over onto his back and looked up at Luffy sadly. "Yeah, I know." He rubbed his hands over his face.

Luffy smiled a little sadly down at his friend. Zoro had been head over heels for his older brother, Ace, and they'd been together, up until a week ago that is, since about October of last year. Luffy still didn't understand why, perhaps it had to do with Ace now being at college, but Ace had decided to break it off 2 weeks before Christmas, leaving Zoro down in the dumps ever since.

"Come on. Get dressed and we'll go eat, kay?" He smiled one of his big smiles, wanting Zoro to get back to life and not wallow by himself all day. Plus, his roommate, who had also stayed during the break, was beginning to feel just as down as Zoro was.

Zoro looked up at his friend who was a good 2 years younger than he, a sophomore. This was Zoro's senior, and final, year at school; he didn't want to waste it in bed. He smiled a little at his friend. "Yeah, alright, I'll be ready in 2 minutes."

**o()o()o**

"Honey, I'm home~!"

Sanji whirled around, shirt halfway up his arms as he prepared to put it on. He looked at the guy standing in his doorway and was pretty sure he had no idea who this nut job was. His face twisted up into a look of 'what the fuck' as the guy stood in the doorway, looking just as awkward as Sanji felt.

"S-Sorry, I, uh, got the wrong room...uh, do you know where Zoro lives?"

Sanji slipped the shirt over his head before answering. "Same room one floor up." The man in his doorway blushed and muttered a quick 'thanks' before he hastily apologized and closed the door to Sanji's room. _'__What __the __hell __was __that?__'_

Sanji slipped his button down over his t-shirt and fastened 3 of the buttons as he looked for his belt. He looked at the clock on his dresser: 1:17. He was going to be late if he didn't seriously haul ass. He slipped on his boots and coat, grabbed his keys and wallet, and hurried out the door, almost forgetting to lock his door. As he headed towards the stairs, he saw Zoro, Luffy, and that weird guy from before heading down the stairs just ahead of him.

Sanji decided to just silently walk behind them, pretending his was fully absorbed in a message on his phone. Luffy was talking amicably to the two other guys, gesticulating wildly as he always did. The weird guy threw his arm around Zoro's shoulder and brought him in close, laughing about something or other.

Why did Zoro seem to surround himself with such weird people? Sanji sighed, ducking out the side door to avoid a possible confrontation. He didn't have time to worry about Zoro or his weird friend. He had to get to work.

Sanji worked at the Sky café in town. Normally he'd go to work only after school hours, but since school had let out, he was getting in a few extra hours before the holidays to earn a bit of extra cash.

He hopped in his car and hurried to try and make in time. He was grateful to the owner for allowing him to work a little extra; he didn't want to be rude and show up late.

He burst inside, quickly making his way back into the staff room and shedding his coat. He punched his time card—1:28, barely safe—and grabbed his apron and cap from his locker before heading back out to go behind the counter. Just in time too, there was a cute girl waiting to be served.

"Hello pretty lady, how can I help you?" He asked with the air of a perfect gentleman.

"Oh, um, I'll have..." She took a moment to look over the menu. "I think I'll have the Cappuccino, medium, skim, please." The pretty blonde girl looked to be about Sanji's age. She had her hair tied back into twin braids and wore a light pink sweater dress with white woolen tights and snow boots. She'd shed her peacoat and was holding it draped in her arms, but she'd left her grey beanie on. She was very cute indeed.

"Alright, coming right up Miss..." He smiled and squinted a bit, as if he was trying to remember her name.

"Ah, I'm Conis." She smiled, "And you are...?"

Sanji chuckled and pointed at his nametag. "Sanji." He grabbed the medium cup and got to work on her drink. "So what school do you go to? I think I'd remember seeing you around if you went to Peace Main."

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "No, I go to the local school, Morgania High." She walked around to the register and waited for her drink. "So you go to that boarding school? Then I'm guessing you're not from around here. Where are you from?"

The bell over the door jangled loudly, and the first thing Sanji noticed was how familiar the voice was.

"Maaaan~ that suuuucks~ I can't believe they closed at _one_." Sanji looked over just as Luffy pulled an annoyed face, "What kinda crap is that?"

"Sorry about that." Sanji turned and saw Zoro walking in, he was facing someone that had yet to be seen as he held the door.

"It's alright." That weird guy from before walked in and looked over at Sanji. Their eyes made awkward contact and both quickly looked away, remembering the events earlier that day. They were both more than surprised to see each other again after having departed only a half hour ago.

Sanji finished preparing Conis' drink and handed it to her, giving the lady a charming smile. "That'll be an even 300 Belli, please."

"Wow, it never comes out even!" She chuckled as she reached into her bag for her wallet.

"We incorporated the tax into the prices so it's more convenient." He handed the girl her drink as she handed him the money.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you, Conis-chan." He smiled again and watched her walk over to a table and sit down.

"Alright, what can I get you bastards?" Sanji teased, a smirk at the corner of his mouth.

"Sanji! I forgot you worked here." Luffy smiled broadly, hiding his little white lie behind it.

"Yeah, I'm workin through Friday and then I've got the weekend free. So what do you want?" He rolled the cuffs of his white sleeves further up his arm. Sanji had been periodically glancing over Luffy's shoulders at Zoro, who seemed to be looking in every which way except over the counter. Sanji quirked an internal eyebrow at the odd behavior. His gaze briefly shifted to the mysterious man, who appeared to be giving him a look over.

"Mmm~ I'll have a large hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and the chocolate shaved things on top. And I'll take two ham sandwiches." He threw up his fingers, making sure Sanji knew exactly how many sandwiches he wanted.

"I should've known. Are you guys together or separate?" He asked as he began to punch in the order.

"Oh, he's paying." Luffy indicated the unfamiliar guy with a jerk of the thumb.

"Alright, Mr. Marimo, what'll it be? I'm afraid we're fresh out of Miracle-Gro, but I'm sure I can find a substitute out back."

Zoro scowled, "I'll light up that mosquito incense you've got growing on your face if you don't shut up and take my order, curly-curly love cook."

"Alright, so that'll be one medium coffee for the agitated plant, and what'll you have?" Sanji asked the man whose name he still didn't know, but the longer he looked, the more he felt like he'd seen this guy before.

"I'll have a medium Americano, please." He responded politely. He even went so far as to offer a small smile.

"Alright, that comes to 1200 Belli even."

"1200 Belli? You're burning holes in our pockets." Zoro whined, despite not being the one paying.

"You can thank Luffy for that one. Half of that bill is his." Sanji took the money from the guy and got to work on their drinks. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the three of them went and sat down.

The guy and Zoro sat down next to each other in the slightly smaller than average booths, seeming to be more than comfortable with invading each others bubbles. Sanji couldn't help but feel like there was something...there.

Sanji's eyes darted over to where Conis was sitting and was delighted to discover that she'd been looking at him before turning away shyly. Sanji had never been so happy to work in a coffee shop in his life.

"Hey, Zoro, is that the guy you were telling me about?"

Zoro leaned a little closer to his friend. "Yeah, that's Sanji. He's the one you walked in on right?" Zoro looked over at his best friend, Saga, smirking a bit.

"It wasn't funny! It was awkward as hell!" He punched Zoro in the arm gently, not appreciating having that embarrassing moment brought up.

"Haha, you did?" Luffy laughed through a bite of his sandwich.

"Yeah, right before he screamed 'Honey, I'm home.' Most traumatizing moment of my year." Sanji had come over with a tray, holding all their drinks and Luffy's food in one hand as if it were nothing.

Luffy laughed uproariously as he always did. "That's hilarious!"

Zoro turned and looked at Saga, smiling fondly at his friend. "You're a dumbass, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you're stuck with me till the ends of time, whether you like it or not." Saga threw an arm around Zoro's neck and brought him in close, hugging him.

Sanji grit his teeth a bit before almost slamming the tray down in annoyance. "I have to get back to the register. I'll see you guys later."

"See ya, Sanji!" Luffy offered a wave as Sanji left the table, empty tray in hand.

"What's the matter with him?" Saga asked, arm still slung around Zoro's shoulders.

"What isn't wrong with him?" Zoro joked.

"I heard that, baka Marimo!" All Sanji got in return was a laugh from the trio sitting at the table. _'__Just __hurry __up __and __leave, __assholes.__'_

"Excuse me?" Sanji turned and was delighted to see Conis standing at the counter again. "I was wondering..." She bit her lip before reaching into her bag and pulling out a pen. She took a napkin and scrawled out her number. "Would it be alright to ask you to call me sometime?" Her brows were knit with uneasiness as she handed him the note with a slight smile.

Sanji could hardly believe his luck. "Y-Yes! Yes, I would love that very much!" He tried to keep his inner perverted old man persona buried deep down, but it was seriously struggling to get free.

"Wonderful! I'll see you later then, Sanji-kun!"

"Good-bye, Conis-chan~" Sanji looked down at the napkin. He couldn't wait for his shift to be over.

**o()o()o**

Zoro and Saga were chilling in Zoro's room along with Zoro's roommate, Law, and Sanji as they played old school video games, encouraging on their characters as if they could hear them.

"Why the hell did you chose Ken? He doesn't stand a chance against Ryu!" Zoro laughed pompously

"Cause blondes are always better." Sanji argued back, wincing as he watched his hp steadily dropping. He hadn't played street fighter in...gosh, it'd been years. The nostalgia was what had prompted him to play, but now he wasn't so sure since Zoro was thoroughly kicking his ass.

"Clearly." Zoro snarked.

Saga put a hand on his friend's shoulder, encouraging him to win. "Finish him!"

"That's Mortal Combat." Law corrected, sitting on the other side of Sanji.

"They're all the same to me. I grew up without games."

"HA! Beat you!" Zoro turned to Sanji and pointed in his face, getting within inches of the irritated blonde. His eyes were wide and filled with childish excitement at having totally destroyed Sanji. "In your face, cook!"

Sanji was taken aback by how...normal Zoro was acting. They'd gotten on a bit better since last Christmas, but they still fought a good deal. He brushed off the useless thoughts and fought back. "Yeah well I don't sit on my ass all day playing games. I bet I could kick your ass next time, Marimo!" Sanji challenged, smirking confidently.

"You're on, dartboard!" Zoro turned back around to start up another round when a loud yawn interrupted him.

"Yeah, I think not. It's already almost three. Should head to bed soon."

"What are you, my mother?" Zoro snarked, yawning again.

"Alright, we're all heading to bed." Law decided, standing up and stretching.

"Yeah, sounds good." Sanji stood up as well, "I'll see you guys later." Sanji closed the door on their goodbyes and goodnights before heading back downstairs. As he lay in bed, thoughts of that purple-haired man kept floating into his head, and he didn't like it. His thoughts kept drifting to how close he and Zoro were. How was that even possible? Getting that close to someone so...so marimo-ish. Whatever it was that Saga and Zoro had, Sanji found himself wanting it more and more, until thoughts of the green haired man lulled him to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Note<span>**

First chapter of my Christmas special :D hope you enjoy ^^~

-PD


	2. Idiots Abound

**December 19 - 6 Days till Christmas**

Sanji awoke slowly the next morning, which was highly unusual for him. Usually, he had his phone set to an alarm so he wouldn't oversleep, but for some reason it didn't go off that morning. He blindly searched the surface of his make-shift side table for his phone, eventually sitting up when he couldn't find it.

"Shit, I think I left it upstairs." Deciding that it was perfectly suitable to walk around in his pajamas in an all boys dorm, Sanji threw back the covers and slid out of bed, rubbing a hand over his face before straightening out his hair a bit.

Skipping stairs two at a time, Sanji made it to Zoro's room quickly, just wanting to grab his phone and get ready for the day. He threw open the door, long past the point of knocking. He just hoped someone would be awake.

"Yo, Zoro, Law. You guys awake?" He made sure to be quiet enough so that he wouldn't wake anyone should they be sleeping, but loud enough to be heard.

"Oh, Sanji. Do you need something?" Law mumbled from behind the door where he was changing.

Sanji looked over at Zoro's bed, and, sure enough, the useless lump was buried under the covers. However, as he stared, he noticed that the lump seemed abnormally large. He decided to ignore it.

"Hey, Law, did I leave my phone here?" He asked, trying to be quiet as he looked around the room.

"Yeah, Zoro found it. It's on his dresser." Law pointed to the dresser of which he spoke.

"Thanks." Sanji walked over and, despite himself, looked down at Zoro's bed. As he scanned over the blankets, he could clearly make out two forms beneath the covers. The one closest to the wall shifted over towards the other one and, from what Sanji could tell, wrapped its arm around the unmoving body.

As the form moved, the blankets slid down a bit, revealing the lilac purple hair of Saga and the green spikes that protruded from the baka Marimo. He halted and just stared at the two cuddling bodies.

"They're like one person split into two different bodies." Law commented with a low chuckle. "Makes you kinda jealous."

"I-It definitely doesn't!" Sanji grabbed his phone off the dresser. His outburst however woke Saga from sleep. The purple haired man sat up, his hair slightly disheveled and his eyes only half open.

"Mmm...wha'time izzit?" He mumbled as he sat up, the blanket sliding down his body to reveal both his and Zoro's naked upper bodies. Zoro was curled up and had his arms pulled up by his chest. Sanji internally snorted at the effeminate sleeping pose.

However, he couldn't help but look over the exposed body a bit. Sanji looked down the chiseled chest. He certainly was well built, but as his eyes traveled, he didn't see any sort of waistband where a waistband normally would've been. He looked over at Saga and saw much the same thing. Was the man seriously naked? On top of that, was he seriously naked in bed with Zoro? Sanji didn't know what to think. He turned away and quickly left, a sour scowl on his face as he slammed the door.

"Oi! Watch the god damn door, asshole!" Law shouted agitatedly. He had low blood pressure, so mornings were especially difficult for him, even though he is easily agitated pretty much any time of day.

"Wassup with 'im?" Saga asked before yawning loudly. He looked down at his stomach as he scratched at an itch. "Ah...my pants are falling down." He reached under the blankets and pulled his boxers and pajama pants up to where they needed to be.

Law tutted, a frown setting in. He crossed his arms over his freshly clothed chest. "Just an idiot being an idiot."

Saga uttered a sleepy laugh, "I see." He looked down at his friend and placed a hand on his warm shoulder. "Zoro~ Zoro, wake up!" He gave the body a gentle shake before kicking him out of the bed all together. "Wake up, sleeping beauty!"

"Wha!" Zoro had been somewhat awake the moment Sanji had entered. He'd felt eyes wandering over his body and had decided that feigning sleep would be easier than an awkward confrontation with the gaze of a pervert. However, he was wide-awake after Saga had kicked him out of bed. "What the hell, bastard!"

Saga just laughed at his friend's irritation, that is until he was pounced.

"I'll get you for that!" Zoro tackled his friend and the two of them began rolling around, wrestling in only a semi-violent manner.

Law felt his annoyance mount the louder they got, yet he couldn't tear his gaze away from the two half-naked forms, a certain form in particular catching his eye. He turned away, blushing a bit. "Idiots."

**o()o()o**

Sanji hurried back up to his room, irritation making his movements harsh. He checked the time, the original reason he went down to Zoro's room, and was relieved to see that it was still before 10. As he checked his phone, he noticed that an unfamiliar text was in his inbox.

He opened it and felt his heart fly into his throat as he read it:

_Hello, it's Conis! I'm returning the text you sent last night. I was wondering if we could perhaps meet for lunch before your shift?_

He took a shower in record time, only 20 minutes, and got dressed. He was on cloud nine! A beautiful young lady was asking to meet with him, _Sanji,_ for lunch! Perhaps his luck was turning around. He promptly answered her after officially adding her number to his addresses.

_Dear Conis, I'd be delighted to spend my lunch hour with you. Where would you like for us to meet?_

He excitedly awaited a response as he dressed, making sure he looked dapper, yet casual, for his lunch date. It was only minutes later until his phone buzzed with her response.

_I'm happy to hear that! Would meeting at the Sky café be alright? At noon perhaps?_

He responded with an affirmative, despite the fact that he wasn't exactly looking forward to eating at where he was forced to spend numerous hours serving the food he was sick of looking at, but for such a darling girl, how could he refuse?

_I__'__ll __be __there __at __12 __o__'__clock __sharp!__'_ He pressed send and couldn't resist twirling excitedly before flopping down on his bed, all irritating thoughts of Zoro having completely vacated from his mind.

However, a new disturbance was steadily approaching his room. "Sanji-kuuun~" Usopp's annoyingly warbled voice indicated he clearly wanted something. The door sprung open and the long-nosed sophomore burst into his room. "I'm here on official Secret Santa business!" He saluted.

"Oh?" Sanji sat up in bed and looked over at the intruder. "Lets see it." The day before, a little after dinner, Nami had gone around and, much like the year before, gather the names of everyone who wanted to participate, including a list of desired gifts.

Usopp handed Sanji the envelope with his Secret Santa's information. "We're planning ahead this year." Usopp said with pride. "We're gonna try and avoid doing everything last minute like we did last year." He laughed sheepishly.

"Yeah, that was a real train wreck." Sanji muttered as he pried open the envelope. Memories of the year before and all the drama with Zoro floated into the front of his mind. With the appearance of Saga, he was pretty sure that this year would be a lot like last year: full of Zoro-centered angst.

...Wait a moment...

Why should this year have to be filled with Zoro? They were on good terms...well, as good as they'd ever be, and his friend was in town. He figured he'd be pretty Zoro-free this holiday...and...and he had Conis...

Huh, his chest felt funny. Odd.

Usopp watched Sanji's internal turmoil act itself out on his face. "Oi, you alright there?"

"Hm? Ahh...yeah..." He pulled the name out of the envelope and read over it. He felt his annoyance meter shoot up again as he read the name. Sometimes, he swore that his darling Nami-swan did these sorts of things on purpose.

**o()o()o**

Conis had gotten to Sky Café a little earlier than planned. She ordered a mocha from the barista and sat down at a table, waiting for Sanji to join her. She bit her lip a little, a nervous habit she'd picked up. She was a little nervous about meeting with Sanji, to be honest, but he seemed like such a nice guy, a guy she could talk to. She felt her unease slowly wash away as she filled her head with reassuring thoughts. Before she knew it, she had company.

"I'm sorry I made you wait, Conis-chan. I hope you haven't been waiting long." He placed his coat over the back of the opposing chair. "Would you like me to get you something to eat? It's on me."

"Oh! Hello, Sanji-san! Uhm, if it's alright, then..." She blushed a bit, "then I'd like a chocolate croissant, please."

"Alright. Coming right up~!" He smiled at her. She really was a charming girl.

Sanji and Conis had a pleasant time; chatting about this and that and just generally getting to know each other. Eventually, they wound up on the subject of their friends. Sanji, inevitably, began talking about Zoro.

"—overall he's a complete moron and a pain in the ass, but..." Sanji paused in his tirade and a softer expression crossed his face. "Well...he can also be..." Sanji thought of this morning and that peaceful sleeping position, and of last night when they'd been playing Street fighter II and Zoro had been so close. He quickly brought his mind back to where it needed to be. "A-Ah, but that is that. Why don't you tell me more about your friends."

Conis was taken a bit aback by the sudden turnaround. "Me? Well, there's this one person who is the same with me as you would be with Zoro-san. He was the green-haired one in here yesterday, right?"

"Ahh...yeah...that's him."

"Ahh, he was cute." She chuckled, "He seemed the bashful type."

"I can assure you he's anything but." Sanji said, disbelieving the words that were coming from her mouth.

Conis chuckled, "Sorry. That was just my impression."

Somehow, she'd managed to direct the conversation back to him, but Sanji was persistent. "So, this friend of yours is like that baka Marimo?"

"Eh, well, not exactly. Its just that our relationship is similar." She sighed sadly, "I'd like to be closer to her, but she doesn't seem to have any interest." She gripped her nearly empty mug a smidgeon tighter. "Or rather, it would seem that she doesn't like me at all."

"How could anyone not like you, Conis-chan. You're such a sweet and interesting girl." Sanji insisted, leaning forward a bit. "I hope that the two of you grow closer, I hate to see you sad."

"Thank you, Sanji-san. I wish the same for you and Zoro-san." She smiled as her eyes glanced towards the clock. "Oh! Doesn't your shift start soon?"

Sanji's head whipped around towards the clock. "Sh-Shit!" He stood up. "I'm sorry to end this so abruptly, Conis-chan, but we should definitely do this again." He smiled at her; in fact, he couldn't stop smiling at her.

"For sure, Sanji-san!"

**o()o()o**

Sanji flopped down on his bed the second he returned to the dorms. He was absolutely exhausted. He'd had to do an extra hour of overtime and it had been especially busy that day and the other employee didn't show. He wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. He pulled out his phone to check what time it was: 11:11. _'__Heh, __Zorome...__'_ His brain was foggy with exhaustion and his thoughts were beginning to become dreamlike. _'__Zoro __o__'__clock...it__'__s __Zoro __time...s__'__pposed __to...make __a __wish...__'_ Those were his last semi-sensical thoughts before drifting off to sleep.

Minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Oi, dartboard eyebrows, we're about to play Street Fighter II! You promised you'd get your ass kicked again!" There was no response. "Sanji?"

Zoro opened the door a smidgeon and peeked inside. The lamp was still on, but Sanji had crashed on his bed. Zoro walked over and inspected the sleeping form. Sanji had stripped himself of both his shirts, but he still had his pants and shoes on. Weird guy. Zoro gently shook his shoulder. "Oi, Sanji."

"Zoro..." he muttered.

"Sanji, you awake?"

"Iz Z'ro uh'clock...make a w'shhh..." He fell back asleep again, snoring gently.

"What the hell?" Zoro sighed when he didn't get a response. "Seriously, you're a real pain in the ass." Zoro scooted down to the end of the bed and untied the blonde's shoe. "Don't take on extra hours if you're gonna wear yourself out, dumbass." He continued to berate as he slipped the first shoe off and began to work on the other one. "It's the week before Christmas, you know? You're supposed to enjoy it, aren't you?" As he slipped off the shoe, the knuckles of his hand tickled across the bottom of Sanji's foot, making the blonde spasm in his sleep. _'__So __the __idiot__'__s __ticklish.__'_ Zoro smirked, deciding to store this interesting tidbit for later.

Zoro looked over Sanji's body. He figured that sleeping with pants and a belt on would be uncomfortable, but he felt a little awkward about removing them. He'd decided to simply stick with the belt. However, it was then that Sanji decided to roll over onto his side.

Zoro frowned at this. "I'm trying to help you here, baka..." Since Sanji's bed was against the wall, he couldn't simply go around to the other side. He'd just have to reach over the sleeping moron. Trying not to fall on top of the person he was helping, Zoro angled himself carefully and began to work the belt off. Sanji's arm shot up and wrapped around Zoro's waist, making him fall over Sanji and land between the blonde and the wall, his lower half draped over Sanji awkwardly.

'_Shit!__'_ His face exploded with an embarrassed blush. _'__Let __go, __dumbass!__' _

"Mmm...Conis-chan..." He mumbled, hugging Zoro tight and sighing into the soft green hair.

Zoro frowned, a complicated emotion shining in his eyes. First of all, he didn't appreciate being confused for a woman, and second he didn't...he didn't quite know how he felt about being so close to Sanji. He...

The hand Sanji had on his back began to gently tickle over his lower back in soothing little circles, a gentle 'Conis-chan' slipped from between his lips again.

Zoro pressed his hands up against Sanji's chest and began pushing away, but Sanji's persistent hand tried to hold him closer. Zoro really didn't want to wake Sanji, especially not now, but he had to get out and head back upstairs to Saga. He's been gone far too long.

Slowly and carefully, he slithered out of Sanji's hold. Sanji's hand followed him, but eventually fell back to the bed. "Cold..." He muttered, shivering a bit.

Zoro looked back at him, a frown on his face. He walked back over to Sanji's side and lifted him enough to get the blankets out from under the cook before tucking him in. He walked back across the room to the lamp. "G'nite, Sanji." And with that, he switched off the light and left.

As soon as the door closed, Sanji's eyes opened and he sat up, fully awake. He looked over at the door before looking down at the belt that Zoro had partially undone. He finished the job and tossed the belt to the floor. Sanji had been awake ever since Zoro had tickled the bottom of his foot, but curiosity had made him pretend to be asleep, to see what Zoro would do.

"What the hell am I doing?" He muttered. He could hear the idiots upstairs thumping about as they played another round of Street Fighter. "I'm such an idiot."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Note<span>**

I totally didn't post this late ¬ w ¬

It's all in your imagination~

-PD


	3. What a Tangled Web We Weave

**December 20 – 5 Days till Christmas**

Zoro awoke with Saga wrapped around him again. He sighed, turning to look at his best friend. "Oi, Saga." Saga didn't stir, but instead held his friend tighter. "Oi! Bastard! You're too clingy! It's bad enough we have to share this tiny ass bed, I don't need you clinging like that. It's too hot!"

A deathly vibe was radiating from the opposite side of the room. "Shut up." Law mumbled, every ounce of evil intent being forced into every word. "You're so fucking noisy."

It was only then that Saga decided to wake up, though he didn't move from where he was nestled. "You're disturbing your roommate, Zoro." He mumbled against the back of Zoro's neck.

"Let go of me! You're so damn touchy-feely!" Zoro thought back to last night and how Sanji had clung to him, a gentle shiver at the thought made his body spasm a little, despite himself.

"But you're just so warm..." Saga muttered.

"If you two love birds don't shut up I'm kicking you both out."

"Aww, Law, don't be like that." Saga was now mostly awake. "You can always join us."

"Don't say shit like that! You make us sound like a couple of perverts." Zoro protested, finally knocking an elbow into Saga's solar plexus. He slid out of bed once he was free of Saga's hold. "I'm going to go take a shower." He grabbed his towel and shower caddy before opening the door. Standing in front of the door was a girl with bright orange hair tied up in a short ponytail.

"Morning, Zoro~" She greeted. She looked past Zoro and saw Saga lying in his bed. "Huh? Saga! What're you doing here!" She ran over and began to bat him over the head with a pillow. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were gonna be here!"

"Sorry, sorry, Nami. I wasn't planning on coming, but Laki—"

"Huh? Is she here too?"

Law peeked out from under his blankets murderously, daring anyone to come close. "All of you. Out. _Now._"

**o()o()o**

"How come you guys are the ones bein noisy and I'm the one who gets shit for it!" Zoro complained, as he, Saga, and Nami headed towards Saga's car. Law had practically punted them out of the room after he'd been disturbed from his sleep by Nami's shrieking and Zoro's yelling.

"Haha, he's kinda temperamental, huh?" Saga commented idly, "He seemed a lot more chill over Spyke." Normally, he and Zoro got along just fine, nothing really set each other off. But with the addition of Saga to the mix, tensions rose within the tiny room.

"I can't believe you guys actually managed to get away from that prison you call a school." Nami added, still happy to see an old friend again. Saga attended the Grand Line Military School along a couple of their other friends. Unless they were going home for the holidays, they were required to remain on school grounds.

"It's a military school, Nami. If I'm gonna be a commanding officer someday, it's good to have a little military background. Besides, I have my ways of getting around the system. Laki helped me out too."

"Haha! You've become such a rebel! Well, I can understand why "Warrior Laki" would go there," she joked, bringing up an inside joke from childhood, "but whatever. It's your life."

"Ooooi! Namiiiii!" Luffy called, running up to the little group.

"What's up, Luffy? You know, if you need to find me, you can always just call my cell. You don't have to go running all over campus."

"Lost it."

"Again?"

"Yeah."

"Jeez..."

"But that's beside the point. Nami, I need to talk to you." Luffy had an uncharacteristic look of worry on his face. "Er, _alone_." He insisted, "it's kinda important."

Nami quirked a confused eyebrow before uttering an affirmative response. Just to tease their friend, Saga jabbed Zoro with his elbow and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Zoro joined in with a shit-eating grin and pretended to whisper something in Saga's ear. The two of them giggled like a couple of gossipy old ladies.

"You two are such kids." She scolded, blushing a bit despite herself. She turned away and followed Luffy, who seemed to be in a bit of a hurry as they walked off with a touch of urgency.

"What was that all about?" Zoro asked his friend. Saga could only offer a shrug.

"What's this all about, Luffy?" She asked, arms crossed and hip popped once they'd finally found a quiet spot to talk.

"You have to absolutely _promise_ that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, Nami. You _especially_ can't tell Zoro." Luffy warned, making sure to get up in her face to emphasize his point.

"I got it, I got it, just back away from me." She knocked him on the head before re-crossing her arms. "Now what's this all about?"

"Ace is coming tomorrow."

**o()o()o**

Laki was pacing awkwardly outside the Sky café. Saga had told her to meet him and Zoro there at 11:30. It was already almost noon. Not that she hadn't expected anything less, but where in the hell were the guys?

"Oi, Laki!" Zoro called, waving one of his big tan hands.

"Laki!" Saga echoed, "Sorry we're late!"

"Honestly, you guys could try being on time for once!" She scolded with a smile.

"We ran into Nami and then Luffy showed up, and we were gonna wait for her, and we did, but then when she finally came back she told us to go on ahead without her. Like she couldn't have told us sooner." Zoro griped.

Laki couldn't help but chuckle a bit; that sounded like Nami, alright. "Well let's go inside. It's freezing out here!"

Zoro had been hesitant to return to the Sky Café after the last time he'd brought Saga here. It wasn't like that had been the first time Sanji had served him, far from it, considering this was one of two cafes in the small town. Despite that, the last time Zoro had visited, there had been something off about the blonde.

Zoro had planned to get there before Sanji came in for his 1:30 shift to avoid him all together. A niggling thought in the back of his mind was telling him that something was off. He would usually have at least one run-in with Sanji in the morning. Was he being avoided?

"Zo-ro!"

Zoro's jerked a little when his name was called with too much force for it to have been the first time his name was said.

"Place your order." Laki demanded.

"A-Ah, medium coffee and a...I'll have a Reuben. And can I get a glass of water?"

"Right away, sir!" Zoro always found it weird when people his age called him 'sir' as if he was years older than they.

"You alright, Zoro?" Saga asked, placing a hand against his forehead. "Hope you're not getting sick so close to the holidays..."

"No, I'm fine." He said, brushing off the hand and reaching for his wallet.

Saga and Laki shared a look. Clearly their friend wasn't fine, but they weren't going to push it. The trio took a table towards the back where it was warmer, and, soon enough, they were laughing about the old times again. It was as if they'd never been separated.

"Hahaha! And remember, and remember," Saga's story was broken by hearty laughter, "that time that Zoro got lost on the class trip, back in the 5th grade?"

"Ohh, gods yes," Laki said through her tears of mirth, "when we got back to the school, the entire building went looking for him, but he'd been on the bus the whole time! He'd fallen asleep on the damn bus!"

Zoro's head shot back with laughter; even he had to laugh at it. "That's what those bastards get for not checking on their kids properly." When he rolled his head back forward to take another bite of his sandwich, he saw one very familiar, very _early_, figure standing in the doorway.

Sanji was staring at their table, and when the moss head looked up at him, his eyes widened a bit. Both parties were equally surprised to see each other.

"Zo-Zoro?" Laki asked as she wiped her eyes, "What're you looking at?" Laki turned around so she could see the door and her smile instantly dropped to a look of...well, surprise was one word for it. "Conis...!"

Conis took a worried step back. Now that they'd been seen, it wasn't like they could just up and leave. Sanji and Conis looked at each other with a sort of 'Now what?' expression on both their faces. They gave the table a pleasant little wave, and Saga immediately returned it, Laki and Zoro hesitated a moment before offering shaky little waves.

The three of them watched as Conis and Sanji went to the register. Once the two blondes' backs were to them, they huddled in for a quick whisper.

"I thought you said he wouldn't be here for another hour!" Laki whispered harshly, "And what the hell is he doing with Conis of all people?"

"I don't know what he's doing here! But he's..." Zoro flashed back to last night. "I think he likes Conis." The three of them sat back and looked over at Sanji and Conis who were chatting, and from the look on Sanji's face it was maybe something a little more on the serious side. "I just didn't know he was _that_ into her..." A complicated look crossed Zoro's face. It was somewhere between a grimace and general confusion.

Saga looked at his two friends before looking up at the two blondes. _'__What __a __mess...__'_

**o()o()o**

That night, Zoro, Laki, Nami, Saga, Law, Sanji, and Conis were sitting semi-awkwardly around Law's tv, watching The Boondock Saints. Sanji and Zoro were on Zoro's bed, Zoro sitting against the head of the bed with his legs stretched out, feet barely brushing Sanji's thigh. Sanji sat at the end of the bed, shoulder leaning against the dresser that served as a sort of footboard. Law and Saga sat with their backs leaning against Zoro's bed. Laki was propped against Saga's shins while Conis and Nami each took one of the mini dish chairs that they had brought up from Sanji's room. A couple bags of popcorn were stationed amongst the little group, only the sounds of crunching popcorn and slurping of soda could be heard over the movie.

Sanji was hyper aware every time Zoro's feet gave even the slightest twitch against his leg. Every time he felt Zoro shift his feet away, he leaned until contact was initiated once again. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore. "Oi, Zoro, move your legs."

Zoro smirked and began poking Sanji's thigh with his toes. He didn't even have to say anything to get a rise out of Sanji

"Bastard, just move your feet! You've got the whole damn bed!" Sanji rotated in his limited amount of space and began to push against Zoro's feet with his own. The two men locked eyes, matching shit eating grins as they battled. Their legs shot up and they formed pyramid with their straightened legs. Unfortunately, their legs toppled, knocking Law in the head.

"Ow! Dammit!" Law leaned forward, hand on his head. "Watch it will you?" He grumbled. This was one of his favorite movies, and these clowns were disrupting it. However, he went ignored. Zoro lunged forward and their hands clasped together and continued their struggle. Zoro's knee slipped and hit Saga in the back of the head.

"Hey!" As Zoro tried to get his knee back up on the bed, his foot slipped again, hitting Saga a second time. "Alright! You asked for it!" Saga got up, making sure not to hit Laki as he did so and tackled the Marimo head. He wrapped his arms around his waist and brought him down. Unfortunately, all the pressure Sanji was applying had to go somewhere, so he wound up draped across the two of them.

"Oi! Get off of me!"

"Looks like we've got the little Marimo pinned."

"As if, curly-curly!" Zoro flailed and thrashed about, his hips bucking up as he tried to force Saga and Sanji off of him.

Sanji's temporary distraction with the thrusting hips caught him off guard enough to the point where he loosened his grip, just enough for Zoro to push him and Saga off the bed and onto an unsuspecting Law. Unfortunately, Saga's iron grip around Zoro's waist meant that Zoro was coming down with them. The four wound up in one tangled heap beside the bed.

A battle ensued.

The girls were clustered in a corner, Laki and Nami yelling at them to stop while Conis worried, asking them to please cease and desist.

Nami was the first to give up. "Lets all go to my room. We're technically not supposed to be in here and if this draws attention I don't want to be here if anyone should arrive."

Laki and Conis looked at each other a bit awkwardly, but they both liked Nami well enough to not want to decline. The three of them left, their disappearance going completely unnoticed by the male portion of the room.

Saga had Zoro in a firm sleeper's hold with his legs clamped tightly around Zoro's hips while Law was sitting on Sanji's back, pulling the cook's legs back and around so he couldn't move.

"You're not too bad, Law." Saga complimented, chuckling as Zoro flailed in his arms.

"Neither are you. There aren't many people who can pin that roommate of mine." The friendship level between the two rose considerably as they shared a moment of victory. "We finally managed to subdue these animals."

Sanji looked over at Zoro who was completely engulfed in Saga's limbs. He stopped struggling all together as he felt his heart twinge.

Zoro also stopped struggling and looked down at Sanji. He was surprised, though he didn't show it, to see a sort of angered look on the cook's face. The wrestling had all been in good fun; why was he upset? A yawn interrupted his thoughts.

"Wow, didn't think the sleeper hold worked quite like that." Saga joked.

"Shove it." Zoro mumbled. "I'm tired, let me go." Saga complied and Law also dropped his hold on Sanji's legs. "Man, I don't wanna go to bed yet." He yawned broadly, contradicting what he said. He explained further, "It's too cramped in bed with you."

"There's a free bed in my room." Sanji offered without really thinking it through. "That is, if you wouldn't mind sharing a room with me." He added awkwardly.

"Really? That'd be great." Zoro turned to look at Saga. "Would you be cool sharing a room with Law?"

"Eh?" Saga looked surprised. "I don't want to kick you out of your own room."

"It's fine. I really don't mind."

Saga paused, looking at Law for a moment, who didn't return his gaze, before looking back at his friend. "You sure you cool with me kicking you out like that?"

"Yeah," Zoro said, an assuring smile on his face, "I might actually have room to breathe tonight."

Saga laughed good-naturedly. "Can't help it. I was born to cuddle."

"Yeah, well." Zoro looked at Sanji, "Can I trust I won't be murdered in my sleep?"

Sanji smirked, "I'm pretty sure I'm the one who should be sleeping with one eye open." Zoro chased Sanji out of the room, the two of them hurling insults as they made their way downstairs.

Law looked at Saga awkwardly before smiling. "They're like a couple of kids, huh?"

"Yeah," Saga pulled his shirt off as he got ready for bed, "sometimes I feel more like his dad that his best friend. Or worse: his mom."

Law smiled at Saga, the broadest the purple-haired man had yet to see. "I know the feeling."

**o()o()o**

Sanji and Zoro got ready to go to bed, fighting a little more before finally settling down.

"Hey, Zoro."

Zoro turned around as he was pulling off his shirt. "What?"

"Why'd you volunteer to stay here with me?"

Zoro smiled as he undid the button of his pants. "To give them some time alone." Sanji's face spoke of his confusion before his mouth could. "Law's got a thing for Saga."

Sanji slammed on his mental brakes. _'__What?__'_ He asked himself incredulously. _'__But __I __thought __that __Saga __and __Zoro __were...If __he__'__s __supporting __them __then __that __means...__'_ Despite himself, Sanji felt a wee bit giddy.

"Yeah, don't say anything though."

"Jeez, I won't! Now just get to bed already!" He snapped, quickly turning around to hide his excited smile. He was so inexplicably happy to hear that Saga and Zoro weren't together. Though their general closeness was definitely unusual, it would be only natural to assume.

Zoro walked over to Absalom's bed and pulled back the covers, getting ready to hit the hay. Though when he pulled the sheet away, what he saw, and smelt for that matter, there repulsed him.

"Dude, this is sick. There's no way I'm sleeping in this guy's bed."

"Why what's the ma—Oh, oh yeah. That's gross. Ah, jeez, that damn pervert." Sanji looked at Zoro, embarrassment running across his face. "Sorry about that. He...er...He usually cleans up..." He didn't want to tell Zoro to go back up to his room, but he wasn't going to make Zoro sleep in a bed full of Absalom's...er...

"You have the worst roommate ever." Zoro joked, throwing the sheets back over the mess.

Sanji walked back over to his bed and plopped down. "What should we do..." He said more to himself than to Zoro.

Zoro sighed and went over to the light, flipping it off. Sanji watched, confused as Zoro trekked back across the room, bumping and tripping over miscellaneous objects that got in his way.

"Move over." He demanded as he pulled the blankets back.

"Hah?" Sanji was confused. Hadn't Zoro come down here to escape sleeping next to someone?

"I can't go back up cause Law more than likely is already asleep, and so is Saga. I don't wanna wake them." As Zoro slid in, Sanji scooted over, making room for the nearly naked man, while he himself wore only his boxers.

He watched as Zoro curled up in the same pose he had seen that one morning, his back now facing Sanji. _'__I __can__'__t __believe __he__'__s __in __my __bed._ My _bed. __Not __Saga__'__s.__'_ Sanji rolled over so his back was facing Zoro's and curled up in much the same way after pulling the blankets up over them. He thought back to the night that Zoro had helped him undress and he'd taken advantage of the feigning sleep act. He hoped he'd be able to control the inexplicable urges. _'__Tonight__'__s __gonna __be __interesting.__'_

**Author's Note**

Shiiiiiit I'm getting behiiiiiind! D:

Ah well. Two chapters in one day? Not a problem!

(^Above statement=total bullshit)

-PD


	4. Truth Be Told

Updated Pairings~

So, so far we now have SanjixZoro, so far a one-sided SagaxLaw, and possibly some shoujo-ai with Conis and Laki down the road. If you're uncomfortable with any of this, you're free to discontinue reading.

(though I'd like it if you stuck with me, ne? *begging face*)

-PD

* * *

><p><strong><span>December 21 – 4 Day till Christmas<span>**

Sanji distinctively remembered feeling cold throughout the night. The muscles in his body were constantly tensing and shuddering, keeping him from falling into a deep sleep. Eventually though, he seemed to warm up and was finally able to relax.

Now that it was morning, he saw what had been keeping him so exceptionally warm to the point of almost being uncomfortable. He stirred, trying to shrug off the blanket, wanting to cool off a bit, but the blanket was wrapped tight around him, and he couldn't get it off. The blanket also had a pulse and tickly warm breath that ghosted across his shoulder blades.

Sanji shifted a bit, now much more awake than he'd been a moment ago. "Zoro?" He called gently. Zoro didn't answer, but Sanji could feel him shift a bit, pulling Sanji in closer as he nuzzled his face against the pale back. Sanji smiled. "Thought you didn't like cuddling."

There was a grunt and, for a second, Sanji thought that Zoro was awake. Either that, or the Marimo could sense Sanji's jibes even in his sleep. Deciding not to worry about it, Sanji closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

"_I know its scary, Sanji-san."_

"_I just...I don't know what to do, Conis-chan..."_

"Conis...chan..." Zoro woke up when he felt Sanji shift and rotate in his arms. Sanji's arm wrapped around his shoulder and his face nestled into the spiky green hair. Zoro hadn't even remembered rolling over himself, nor did he remember wrapping his arms around the blonde. He was sort of beginning to see where Saga was coming from. He just hoped Sanji wouldn't push him away like he always pushed Saga away.

"Coni...Conis...chan..." Zoro felt Sanji pull him in closer. He could feel Sanji's heartbeat, strong and fast, like he had just finished running a marathon. Zoro was troubled that once again, while being held in Sanji's arms, it was Conis' name that was being uttered. He yawned and let his eyes slip shut. He'd worry about it in the morning.

**o()o()o**

"—ey're really too cute."

'_That's Saga's voice...'_

"Kinda defeats the purpose of moving down here though."

'_Law...'_

"Well, it's different with Sanji than it is with me. Oh, I think he's waking up."

Zoro opened his eyes and expected to be looking straight into their smirking faces, but, instead, he was looking at Sanji's pronounced collarbone. He shifted slowly, assuming that Sanji was still asleep, he didn't want to wake him until he could look at the intruders.

Saga's eyes were filled with mischief though his smile remained endearing. Law, however, was sporting a huge, shit eating grin and his eyes were smug. "Thought it was too cramped for 2 people to sleep in one bed." He whispered.

"Shut up! I would've slept in the other bed but—"

"Sure, sure. You don't have to tell us, Zoro."

"No really—"

"So you hate cuddling with me, but with Sanji its okay?" Saga gave an exaggerated pout, "I'm jealous~ You never held me when _we_ cuddled." He joked, smiling when he was no longer able to hold a pout.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zoro could see Law tense in slight jealousy. "Seriously, if you look under those covers you'd get why—" Sanji had begun nuzzling the side of his face, mumbling nothing in particular into the reddening ear. "This...bastard..."

Saga chuckled as Law went over to inspect the other bed. "You guys...you really need to just hurry up and get together already." He brought a hand up and nudged Zoro's chin with his fist.

Zoro quirked an eyebrow, "But he doesn't—"

"Aw!" Law exclaimed, forgetting for a moment to be quiet. "God! That's fuckin gross, man!" He threw the covers down in disgust. "What kind of nasty ass...who leaves that shit in their sheets over break!" He held his hands away from his body, fearing they were contaminated. "I need to go wash my hands. For at least an hour." It was only partially a joke. Law had always been a bit of a germaphobe and seemed to know everything about bacteria and infections and the like. Everyone always said he'd make a great doctor. Law opened the door with his wrists, letting it slam behind him.

"Nnn..." Sanji groaned. Saga and Zoro froze in place, both of them holding their breath.

"I'm gonna go." Saga whispered, following Law out the door as quietly as he could.

'_Traitor! Leaving me here!'_ But then again, it'd probably be even more awkward if Saga had been there.

"Fuckin...door..." Sanji muttered, shifting so he could get more comfortable, but he never let go of Zoro. "Yer like a heater, ya know that, Zoro?" He slurred.

"Sanji?"

Sanji pulled away and sat up, stretching out his upper body before looking down at Zoro, the light from the window shining on his golden bangs. Zoro's heart stopped when Sanji looked down at him with a sleepy smile. "Mornin, Marimo."

**o()o()o**

"So, do you guys understand the plan?" Nami asked Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy one last time. They both nodded an affirmative. "Alright, then operation keep-Ace-away-from-Zoro-as-much-as-possible shall now commence!" The four of them were sitting in Usopp and Luffy's room, having just gotten back from lunch. Luffy had gotten a text form his brother saying that he was in the car and would be there in about 2½ hours. That had been at 10. It was nearly 12:45 now.

"But, why are we keeping them apart? Wouldn't it be better if they could see each other and reconcile?" Chopper wondered, feeling like maybe this was one of those bad ideas that would not only fail, but turn around a bite them all in the ass.

Luffy took Nami's place in explaining. "Ace is a really hot-headed guy. Since they only broke up a little less than 2 weeks ago, he's not gonna like seeing Zoro hanging around Saga or Law; much less Sanji. He hates Sanji."

"Why's he hate Sanji so much?" Usopp folded him arms.

"Remember last year at the bus stop? When we saw Sanji and Zoro arguing?"

Usopp nodded. That had been Christmas Eve Day, and he and Nami had gone out to get last minute Secret Santa gifts when they'd overheard Sanji and Zoro having a huge fight, unlike before. "What about it?"

"Well, as it turned out, Ace was working at the store they'd gone to and he had seen Sanji acting like an asshole to his then-boyfriend." Nami explained.

Luffy nodded, a frown on his face. "If only he didn't get so jealous..."

The four of them sighed in unison. They shared a silent moment until Luffy's phone began to ring. They exchanged a look before Luffy pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear.

"Yo, Luffy. Do I park in front or back?" Luffy took the phone away form his face.

"He's here!" He announced, as if they didn't know. He brought the phone back to his ear. "It's closer if you park in back." Luffy explained.

"Alright, I'll be there in a few."

"Kay!" Luffy hung up and looked at the other 3.

"Alright," Nami pointed a finger as she made her final point, "remember: avoid Sky Café, the upperclassmen dorms, and anywhere else Zoro could possibly be."

"Right!"

Ace slid into one of the many empty parking spots behind his brothers' dorm. Getting out, he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder before heading inside.

The stench of unhygienic teenage boy hit his nose, the smell, while unappealing, was oddly nostalgic. He hurried up to his brother's room and threw the door open. "Hey, Luffy." He grinned.

"Ace!" Luffy stood up from the floor and went over to his brother. They exchanged a quick hug. "Good to see you."

"Hey Ace, how's college?" The other three went to go see how the older brother was doing.

"Ahh, it's not bad." He brought a sheepish hand up to the back of his head. "It's like a party with lots of homework. Maybe a bit too much of a party." He thought back to his most recent embarrassing party moment; one that wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon. "Though a part of me is really missing...missing home, ya know? More so than when I was at boarding school. It sucks being a freshman again." He laughed.

"Sounds like a lot of fun though." Nami piped up. "Is the food there good at least?"

"It's alright the first few weeks, but it gets old real quick. I was kinda excited to get back and go to the Sky Café again. That place was one of my favorites." Ace had always gone there with Zoro; it'd been one of their favorite places to go to so they could get away for a while.

However, while Ace was eager to get going, the other four felt their stomachs drop. Of course he would suggest the one place they were trying to keep him away from.

"What's up? Ahh, don't tell me Makino doesn't work there anymore!" Ace had had a bit of a puppy crush on the woman he always saw working there. He'd hate to have not had the chance to say good-bye.

"No she's still there," Chopper offered, "but Sanji—" Usopp quickly shut him up. Unfortunately, he didn't hush him quickly enough.

"Ah, that blonde brat works there?" He tutted, "That's a shame. When's he work?"

The four exchanged a look. They may as well be honest. "He starts at 1:30..." Nami offered hesitantly.

Ace seemed to perk up at this. "Well then, lets get going, shall we?"

Luckily, Nami came up with a backup plan. "Ah...well, I actually have to do a little Christmas shopping still, so I won't be able to go..." She put on her best disappointed face for added effect, and Usopp helped her out with her act.

"Yeah, I have to do shopping too. Wait, isn't that really great Italian place near the shopping strip?"

"There is?" Ace asked; hook, line, and sinker.

"Yeah! It opened up in October." Luffy was practically drooling. "They have the best meatballs~" His excitement was bubbling over. "Can you take us Ace? Please? We've been to the Sky a lot recently and they don't have just meat, and the garlic bread is also really good at the—"

"Alright, alright. I suppose I can treat my brother and his friends to lunch." He paused, hand going back up to rub his head nervously. "Is...Is Zoro here too?"

Once, again, a look was shared. They had figured he'd ask, but they really didn't want to lie and say he wasn't...

"Luffy, you wouldn't lie to your own brother, would you?" Ace folded his arms across his chest. What were these kids hiding form him? "What's going on? Is there something I should know about?"

"I guess it'd technically be some_one_."

Usopp and Nami harshly whispered a synchronized, _"CHOPPERRR~" _Could this boy not keep _anything_ secret? It he hadn't been so adorable and endearing Nami just might've strangled him on the spot.

Ace's gaze darkened. "Well then. Before we head out shopping, lets make a quick detour, shall we?" It wasn't a question.

Operation keep-Ace-away-from-Zoro-as-much-as-possible had been foiled before it'd even had a chance to really be put into action.

Ace's temper was rising with every step he took towards Zoro's room. _'How dare he already have someone else in his life? How dare he get over me so quickly! Why am I the only one who's hurting?'_ Zoro's door was finally in sight. Nami, Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper were trailing behind helplessly.

"Zoro!" Ace threw the door open and walked in on a very unusual scene. He saw Saga, who he'd only seen through Zoro's Spyke conversations previously and at the Christmas party last year only very briefly, with Zoro's roommate Trafalgar Law locked in a sleeper's hold.

Everyone just kinda stopped and stared, wondering what on earth they were looking at. Law was the first to respond. "He's not here." He knew Ace's jealousy well, and if the hand signs Nami and Usopp were giving him behind Ace's back, he was to keep his mouth shut about the marimo's whereabouts.

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

Saga loosened his grip on Law so his arms hung around his shoulders and simply sat there with the tattooed man between his legs. "No idea. Haven't seen him since about 9." _'Yeah, when we walked in on the two of them cuddling.'_ Saga didn't feel the need to add fuel to the fire by adding that interesting little tidbit. He noticed Nami hastily texting someone and figured she was sending out a warning.

Ace gave the two men on the floor one last look before saying, "Alright, well when you see him, could you let him know I stopped by?"

More frenzied hand gestures from Nami and Usopp. "Sure." A lie.

"Great. Thanks." Ace smiled and waved as he left the room, the gaggle of highschoolers following him like baby ducks.

Saga and Law watched the door close in silence. "Did you have any idea he was coming?"

Law just shook his head, already worried about what was going to happen these next couple days.

Sanji was lying in bed on his computer, not really doing anything of important consequence, but he had a little bit of time to kill before he had to go to work, and he figured that some alone time would be nice. But with friends like his, how could he honestly expect to get much of that?

While it would've been perfectly acceptable for Nami, or Luffy, or even Zoro to throw open his door without any sort of warning, he didn't feel that that privilege would extend to those he didn't particularly get along with, so he was reasonably surprised when Ace threw open his door.

"Hey, Sanji." He greeted in a less than friendly tone. He still disliked Sanji after the grocery store incident, and he hadn't let that go, especially because he'd noticed his first impression of Sanji possibly being interested in his then-boyfriend had been correct.

"Ace." Sanji greeted in much the same matter. "If you're looking for Zoro he's not here."

"I can see that, but I just thought I'd make sure." Ace folded his arms as he looked around the room for any sort of clue. _'Where the hell was Zoro?'_

**o()o()o**

Now Zoro, at the time, had no idea that all this was going on. He'd gotten a text from Nami making sure he wasn't at the dorms. He'd told her he wasn't and that he wouldn't be for some time. He was with Laki at the moment. She'd called him out and they were discussing something serious that couldn't be interrupted.

"I just don't...she's just so...argh!"

"Out with it." Zoro demanded. He'd had enough of this beating around the bush bull.

Laki looked down at her gloved hands and sighed, the puff of her warm breath turning into a little cloud of steam. "I can't stand that she can't seem to see that there are so many people who look at her. She's oblivious to everyone's stares. She probably doesn't see mine either."

Zoro ran a hand through his hair. Why did she ask him to talk about it? Saga was so much better with this crap than he was. "Well, I mean, you can't really tell what someone's thinking just by how...no, that's not true. Uh...you can't be _sure_ of what's going through someone's head when they look at you. A look of jealousy could easily be thought of as anger." He smiled as his friend who looked so defenseless right now; an unusual look for the normally strong woman. "An innocent girl like that? She probably thinks you're angry at her. Your face kinda defaults to a glare when you stare at something too long. Like right now. You're giving that rock the death stare."

Laki quickly tried to change her face. "Is that right..." Her face reset to a glower.

"Just talk to her. You might be surprised."

Laki turned and smiled. She really loved this guy, he was such a great friend. She nodded, and hoped that this green-haired idiot would take some of his own advice as well.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Note<span>**

Is anyone else having the issue where all their italicized text gets smooshed together?

:/

-PD


	5. Late for Love at Sky Café

****Think I can write 3 more chapters today?

No?

Neither do I :'D

-PD

* * *

><p><strong><span>December 22 – 3 Days till Christmas<span>**

Yesterday, after Zoro had left, Sanji had momentarily panicked. He wasn't sure how the Marimo had felt about their night-long cuddling session. Apparently, he worried needlessly, because it'd been more than alright. Zoro was back in Sanji's bed that night again under the same excuses he'd used the night before.

Despite the fact that Zoro was obviously comfortable with him, Sanji was still a bit scared, or nervous rather, of how their relationship was going. He'd briefly talked to Conis about it, but with Zoro, Saga, and Laki there it had made it a bit awkward. He'd been disappointed, of course, when he'd found out that Conis hadn't been interested in him in the romantic sense, but he'd been surprised that she'd gone to him for help.

"_Sanji-san, I must be honest. The reason I felt so comfortable talking with you was because..." She bit her lip, trying to draw up the courage to speak. "It was because I had thought you were in the same boat as me. I had thought that...that you liked this man you were so irritated by. It's because I'm also in a similar situation, I thought maybe talking with you would help me work through it. I'm sorry if I've mislead you."_

The funny thing was, was that Conis had actually wound up helping Sanji more than he'd helped her. He'd confided that he had been 'entertaining the possibility' for quite some time, but he'd thought it was just some sort of weird fantasy that would eventually pass. Nothing serious. Though Sanji was sure that if the two of them had never taken those steps towards friendship, Sanji's 'thoughts' probably would've diminished into nothing.

Zoro stirred in his arms, rolling away from Sanji. Sanji frowned, but he couldn't be offended by it. He looked over at the clock; he had to get going.

He placed a hand on Zoro's shoulder. "Zoro." He shook him a bit, "Oi, Marimo, wake up." He shook him a little more.

"Hnngh...curly-curly..." He mumbled.

"Come on, Zoro." He shook one more time before giving up. "I'm gonna be leaving in half an hour. I'll let you sleep till then, but then I gotta kick you out so I can lock up."

"Mmm...yeah...mkay..." Zoro rolled back over to where the low rumble of a voice was coming from. He wrapped his arms around the warm body.

"Zoro, I have to get going." He looked down at the bronze arms that were wrapped around his waist. He brought a hand up to gently run across the green fuzz. He felt his heart speed up incredibly at the intimacy of the moment.

"Mmmstay..." Zoro mumbled on his way back to dreamland.

Sanji looked at the clock again and then back down at Zoro. He figured he could stay in bed a little longer.

**o()o()o**

Conis was sitting in the Sky Café again, waiting for Sanji to arrive. He wa supposed ot meet her there at 9:30, but it was already almost 10. She was beginning to worry that he'd forgotten, though that seemed unlikely. What had happened? They were supposed to talk about her and Laki again and how she was going to develop some sort of relationship with the woman in question. She clutched her Chai latte in her hands, slowly rotating the cup with her fingers.

"Umm, hey." Conis's head shot up and was beyond surprised to see Laki standing behind the chair across from wher COnis sat. "Uh, can I sit here?"

Conis nodded numbly, wondering what in the heck was going on as Laki took a seat. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, neither one of them saying anything until Conis spoke up softly. "Uh, how did you know I'd be here?" She immediately wanted to take back what she said. What had made her think that this was anything more than a coincidence?

"Uh, well, I had some, uh, outside help." Conis noted the shy smile on Laki's lips. She'd only ever seen the stern, firm stare of those dark eyes. It was only then that Conis noted a tint of blue in them. Beautiful.

Conis realized she was staring and quickly pulled herself together. "Oh, really? Well, I was going to meet Sanji-san here, but he's incredibly late." She immediately regretted what she said when she saw Laki's face drop.

"I see..."

"Um, but, since I think he won't be coming, would you perhaps..." Conis took a deep breath in, gathering every ounce of courage. "Would you perhaps like to go Christmas shopping with me?"

Laki perked up instantly, her face splitting into a pleasant smile. "Yes, that sounds fun. I've got my car out front. We could take that, if you're okay with me driving."

"That would be great. Then shall we go?" Conis stood up from the table and slipped into her coat. She grabbed her drink and followed Laki out the door. She reached into her pocked to text Sanji that she wouldn't be there, but was surprised to see that Sanji had sent her one earlier that she hadn't noticed.

_My dear Conis-san. I don't want you to think I've abandoned you, but the Marimo and I have come up with a plan. It's on its way over. I hope everything goes well! ~Sanji_

Conis smiled. So he and Zoro-san had set this up? She looked over at Laki who was holding the door for her, smiling. Yes, everything had gone more than well.

**o()o()o**

"Dammit, Zoro. It's your fault I slept too late." Sanji was still curled up in bed with Zoro. Zoro had barely moved since he'd wrapped his arms around Sanji's waist. Sanji had slid back down and had slung an arm around Zoro's shoulders.

"It was too early to be up. I was doing you a favor." He replied grumpily at having been woken up again.

"I even missed my meeting with Conis-chan."

"Well, we had Laki go instead, so it all worked out." He grumbled into the pale chest. His phone buzzed again. He got up and crawled over Sanji so he could reach the phone that was sitting on Sanji's make-shift side table, his upper body draped across Sanji's chest.

"You're heavy as hell." Sanji griped, not really meaning it.

"Shut up." He picked up his phone and settled back into Sanji's arms, his head lying against Sanji's chest as Sanji slipped his arm beneath his head and around his shoulders. He had gotten a text from Laki.

_Thank you so much Zoro! I owe you big! Now you go get your man!_

He read the message out loud for Sanji, sans the last line, and the two of them grinned. "Guess it worked out."

Sanji chuckled, "I guess it did." His smile disappeared when he thought about the other half of the ordeal: him and Zoro. "But, what about us?"

Zoro looked up at Sanji. "What?"

Sanji took a deep breath. "Well...this." He squeezed Zoro a bit to emphasize what he meant. "I mean, there's something going on here, but...what are we?"

Zoro thought about it for a moment, but he quickly realized that he didn't know either. "I dunno..." He mumbled, starting to fiddle with his phone. He certainly enjoyed Sanji's company, but he'd just gotten out of a relationship with Ace. Was it really alright to move on so quickly? He still missed Ace, and Sanji had been a nice distraction from his inner turmoil, but that was the inner lying problem. He didn't want Sanji to just be a distraction. If he went for Sanji, he'd want it to be the real thing. "I need to think..." He mumbled, sitting up from Sanji's arms.

"Yeah, alright." Sanji agreed, though it sounded a lot more irritated than he'd meant. "I think that's a good idea." He knew of the recent breakup, which was part of what had given him the little bit of extra push towards developing a level of...something between him and the marimo, even if he still didn't know what that something was yet. Though it was obvious they liked each other, they weren't sure if it was really right to start any sort of relationship yet.

Sanji watched as Zoro got dressed in the clothes he wore yesterday before leaving the room, he stopped in the doorway, tempted to glance back, but instead he continued on out the door without a word.

**o()o()o**

Ace had wound up sleeping on the floor in his brother's room. Luckily, he'd thought ahead and had brought his sleeping bag so he'd slept decently enough. He got up and was surprised to see it was already past noon. His brother and roommate were nowhere in sight, so he simply got up, showed, dressed, and headed out. Perhaps he'd run into Zoro that day.

The first place he went was back to the upperclassmen dorms. He went back to Zoro's room, this time knocking on the door. He heard shuffling and called out. "Yo, Zoro, are you there?"

It was a moment before anyone answered. Zoro slowly peeked through the door and came eye to eye with Ace. He was taken aback for a moment, his eyes widening. He stuttered for a moment before his mind caught up with him. "What're you doing here?"

Ace's face split into an awkward smile. He was happy to see Zoro, but the reaction the younger man gave had him feeling like his heart was on pins and needles. "I, uh, I wanna talk to you." Zoro looked back inside the room, making Ace a bit suspicious. "Is there someone there with you?"

Zoro just rolled his eyes. "God, no, Ace. No one's here. Besides, we broke up. Who I see shouldn't matter to you anymore."

"Zoro, that's why I want to talk to you." He sighed, shoulders slumping. "Will you please let me in?"

Zoro bit his lip and looked down before awkwardly glancing about his room. "No, I'll come out. We can go for a walk." He left the door to go and grab his coat, returning quickly and locking the door behind him. "Alright, let's go."

The two of them headed out into the cold of winter. Zoro had never really liked the cold, but he was tired of being cooped up in his room.

"So, uh, how've you been?" Ace began awkwardly.

Zoro didn't even look at him. "How do you think I've been?"

"Hopefully better off than I've been." Ace joked half-heartedly. His smile fell and fell into a despondent frown. He took hold of Zoro's arms and made him face him. "Zoro, it's been miserable. It's been absolute hell without you."

"Then why'd you break up with me? And over Spyke no less." Zoro grumbled, looking away. He hated when Ace looked at him like that; that look made him want to stop being angry.

"Cause, Zoro, I was away at school and..." He paused, a bit too long for comfort.

"Oh god..." Zoro felt sadness building up behind his eyes, stinging in the corners, "did you cheat on me?" He didn't know if he could keep from crying if Ace said yes.

"No! No, no, oh god no, Zoro." He brought a hand up to Zoro's face and ran a thumb across Zoro's cheek. "I could never cheat on you. It was just...I thought that if I broke it off with you, I wouldn't feel so...frustrated with having you way over here and not with me, in my arms."

Normally, Zoro would've laughed at the stupidly romantic sentiments, but right then they stung his heart. He couldn't even say anything.

"Zoro I loved you, I still do. But we were always fighting every time we talked, and it was because of my stupid jealousy. I didn't want to put you through that anymore, cause it wasn't fair to you. But then when I thought of all those guys that I don't know with their paws all over you, I hate that even more." He pulled Zoro into his arms. "Zoro, I'm so sorry. If you'll forgive me, please...please take me back. I can't stand being without you."

"Ace..." Zoro was incredibly touched by Ace's heartfelt apology, but then he thought of Sanji and his chest lurched. "Ace, I—"

"Don't say anything. Please, just let me hold you for a little. My heart wouldn't be able to take it if you rejected me now."

Ace's voice sounded so sad, so desperate, that Zoro couldn't decline right away. He closed his eyes and lay his head down on Ace's shoulder. His thoughts were racing about in his head. He wasn't sure yet what he should do. He loved Ace, sure, but they had broken up for a reason. Plus, now Sanji had managed to worm his way into the equation. He felt Ace's grip loosen a bit, so he, too, lifted his head. Ace was incredibly close, only inches away, but that distance soon closed when Ace leaned forward and pressed his lips to Zoro's.

**o()o()o**

Sanji had been getting ready to go to work when he'd chanced a glance out his window. He squinted. Was that...? He hurried over to the window as he buttoned his work shirt, peering down at the two figures standing on the sidewalk. He couldn't believe what he saw. That marimo bastard had gone running back into Ace's arms. He felt his anger bubble up, but he kept watching anyways. He knew better than to look away; he'd seen those movies where everything went wrong just because they didn't watch long enough or listen long enough. No, he was going to wait and see everything that went on, despite how much it hurt.

At first, Zoro had seemed to kiss back, and Sanji could feel his heart grow heavy, but then it grew light again when he saw Zoro push Ace away, wiping his mouth a bit. For a second, Sanji thought they were arguing, but then they grew still. Sanji wished he could hear what was going on. Zoro apparently said something because Ace's head lowered and Zoro walked around him and back towards the building. Zoro never saw Ace turn around and reach out for his arm, and he'd probably never even know it had happened. Sanji could tell that Ace loved Zoro, but he'd had his chance. It was Sanji's turn now.

* * *

><p><strong><span>A<span>uthor's Note**

A bit shorter than the others, but I'm kinda pressed for time ¬_¬

-PD


	6. We'll Do What's Right

**December 23 – 2 Days till Christmas**

"You know, I feel like I haven't seen Saga or Law for a while." Zoro commented idly as he got dressed.

"Oh?" Sanji was already dressed and was brushing his teeth at the tiny sink in the room. He spat and wiped his mouth on the towel that was draped over the lip of the tiny basin. "Maybe we should go find 'em. There aren't too many places they could be."

Zoro hiked up his jeans before fastening his belt. "Yeah, alright."

Sanji grabbed his phone and keys, locking his door and following Zoro upstairs. Zoro was about to throw open the door when he heard a loud thud and a grunt from the other side. It sounded like Saga had fallen onto the floor and had possibly hurt himself. Concerned about the safety of his friend, Zoro pushed the door open. "Oi, Saga, you alright?"

Sanji peeked around Zoro and smirked. "I'd say he's more than alright."

Saga had, indeed, fallen to the floor, but that was only because a somewhat aggressive attacker had knocked him there with a fiercely heated kiss. Law was on his hands and knees, leaning over Saga's felled body and kissing him for all he was worth. He only looked up when Sanji's snarky comment came from the doorway.

"You can probably move back in here if you'd like, Zoro. Cause Saga and I'll be sharing a bed from now on." He smirked, that cocky grin accentuating his handsome, bad boy look.

"Who in their right mind would wanna share their room with a couple of love birds?" Sanji smirked, crossing his arms as he leaned up against the doorframe.

"Yeah, that's right. If Zoro's up here, you'll be right there with him. I'd rather not have to listen to the two of you and your half asleep cuddly love talk. It's cute the first time, but the cutesy one-liners get a bit old, Sanji."

Sanji and Zoro looked at each other and quickly looked away. They didn't even consider themselves lovebirds. Sanji felt awkward about the whole Ace thing, which Zoro was obviously keeping secret from him. Zoro felt awkward about having to try and keep Ace a secret.

Law straightened up so he was straddling Saga's lap. "Are you guys serious?" Had the two of them really not gotten together yet? What was taking them?

"Well, there's...it's..." Zoro stuttered, looking anywhere but at Sanji.

"Hey, Law, lemme get up." Saga placed a hand on Law's hip as he sat up.

"Mm." Law placed his hands on Saga's shoulders as he stood up, stepping away from Saga before helping him to his feet.

"Zoro. You. Me. We're talking. Now." He threw an arm around Zoro's shoulders and pulled him out of the room, forcing the marimo to walk backwards clumsily.

"O-Oi, Saga! What is—" The door closed on the rest of Zoro's sentence, leaving Law and Sanji alone in the room together.

Sanji's smug grin quickly found its way back onto his face. He pretended like he had had no idea Law was interested in Sage. A fact, if Zoro hadn't informed him, it probably would've gone completely unnoticed by the blonde. "So, you and Saga, huh?"

Law went over and sat down on his bed. "So, you and Zoro, huh?" He countered.

Sanji's grin faded again. "No, we aren't together. As you probably know, Ace is here."

Law didn't say anything, nor did he move. He just waited for Sanji to talk.

"Well, from what I saw, it seems that Ace wants to get back together with Zoro. Zoro must be giving it some sort of thought, because when I asked him about us he gave me the 'I need to think about it' spiel." Sanji went over to Zoro's bed and sat down. "I wish he'd think about my feelings some."

"That's probably why he asked to think about it, for your sake." Law offered. When he saw the confused look, he continued. "He just got out of a relationship, right? He probably just doesn't want you to be his bounce back. If I know Zoro, which I do quiet well, he's thinking about this very carefully. He's a pretty straight forward guy, but he will make sure to do what he thinks is best and what is right in his books."

**o()o()o**

"So what the hell is going on with you and Sanji? Dude, the two of you have been sharing a bed the past 3 nights, how can you not be together yet?"

"Keep your voice down! What if Ace hears?"

"It's not like he's creeping in the bushes and following your every move. And so what if Ace hears? You guys broke up, right?" Zoro was silent far too long. "Right? Zo—Don't tell me that you're seriously—"

"No! I'm not gonna go back to him. That wouldn't work out. I still love him, of course, but that will ebb with time, just as his feelings for me will die down. Besides..." Zoro shuffled a bit, "I...I think that I really like that perverted cook." Zoro blushed a bit and looked away.

"Then go tell him." Saga patted Zoro atop his head, smiling down at him gently.

"Quit treating me like a kid. You're only a month older."

"Well, 29 days if we want to get picky." He joked.

"Oh, shut up." Zoro punched his friend in the arm. "So, what about Law? How in the hell did that happen?"

Saga blinked a couple times before laughing nervously a bit. "W-Well, 3 nights all to ourselves...kinda left a lot of room for talking and uh..." His face was burning bright red. Zoro loved to tease him just to see his friend's face change colors.

"You didn't..." Zoro smirked and quirked an eyebrow, "Did you really?"

Saga looked away and nodded a little bit, making Zoro laugh out loud. Saga had always had an issue with sleepwalking. When he and Zoro were still relatively new friends, he'd gotten out of his sleeping bag and gone to join Zoro in his bed without any recollection of how he'd gotten there. Needless to say, Zoro had freaked at the time, but he later learned that it was Saga's subconscious combined with his separation anxiety that made him seek out another warm body at night to cuddle with. Apparently, he'd done the exact same thing to Law.

"Every morning I woke up in Law's bed." He sighed, a slight grin on his face. "When I first got here, I had only had the sneaking suspicion that he had some sort of feelings for me, but I wasn't completely sure on what level his feelings were. When we woke up after the second night of my sleepwalking, Law kissed me and told me he liked me. He was...very forward."

"Yeah, well, that's just how he is. He knows what he wants."

"I gathered." Saga chuckled, "But I'm still a little iffy about a relationship. I mean, I like him will enough, but we go to two different schools, and I'm not even sure if I really like him _like that_ yet." He glanced at Zoro, "No offense, but I don't wanna wind up like you and Ace. Law is one possessive mother trucker." Saga clearly had a few problems of his own to worry about, because it showed on his face exactly how troubled he was. Zoro brought the purple-haired man into his arms for a hug. "Haha, since when do you give hugs?"

"Shut up, bastard. A hug just felt right." He hugged his friend a little tighter and Saga brought up his arms and hugged Zoro right back without question. They'd been through so much shit together, and they were probably headed for a lot more in the future, Zoro was sure. But it was comforting to know he could always count on this guy to be there along side him, whether he liked it or not.

Their little moment was interrupted by a buzzing in Zoro's back pocket. Zoro reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, wondering who could be calling him. He frowned when he saw Ace's name on the display, but he answered anyways. "Ace? What's up?" Saga let go of Zoro and scanned the area, trying to see if maybe Ace was nearby.

"Yeah, I am...No, not really..." Zoro sighed gently, "Alright, I'll meet you there...Bye." He hung up. "Ace wants to meet me at Sky." He checked the clock. "Sanji's shift doesn't start for a couple of hours, so I'll be safe, but..."

"You always fall for the jealous type."

"Oh, shut up."

**o()o()o**

Ace was sitting at the table that he and Zoro always occupied back when they were together. He had ordered a chicken salad sandwich for himself and a Reuben for Zoro. He'd remembered that the green-haired young man had always loved those.

Zoro walked in about 5 minutes after Ace had sat down with their food, his cinnamon eyes darting to the table without even looking anywhere else. He'd figured that Ace would sit there.

"Hey." He sat down and looked at the Reuben, his favorite. Of course Ace would get him his favorite. He didn't touch it right away, though. He noticed that Ace hadn't touched his either.

"Hey."

They sat in an awkward silence until Zoro took his turn to talk. "So, what do you want with me? You called me out here for a reason, right?" He sounded a lot more aggressive than he'd meant to, but if he'd offended Ace in any way, the freckled young man didn't show it.

Ace smilied sheepishly. "What do I want with you?" _'I want to carry you back to your bed and do everything but sleep until morning.'_ Now wasn't the time for perverted jokes, so he kept the semi-serious thought to himself. "I just wanted to talk to you about where we stand. Where I was coming from when I first told you that I wanted to break up." He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "I think...ultimately...us breaking up was the better idea. I know what I said yesterday and what I did yesterday, and that wasn't fair to you. I was being selfish and I let my desires get in the way of my judgment." He took another deep breath, calming himself before he began speaking again, his tone low and quiet. "I know...that you've been sleeping with Sanji."

Zoro's eyes widened and he felt panic settle into his system. "I-I didn't sleep with—"

"Zoro, I didn't mean sex." He smiled at Zoro's flustered expression. It'd been a while since he'd seen it. Ace had been the one to take Zoro's virginity, which was probably why Zoro had become so incredibly attached to Ace, his first, and so devastated when he'd lost that. "But you two did share a bed. I only hope that this is a recent development."

Zoro glared a bit. "Of course it was. It's only been a few nights." He was still unsure of how Ace knew about him and Sanji sleeping in the same bed. He hoped to god that no one had told him.

"I know. You wouldn't cheat on someone, that's not like you." Ace agreed. "So, even though we've broken up, do you think we can still be friends?" He held up half of his sandwich, smiling a bit.

Zoro smiled at the familiar gesture and picked up half of his Reuben. "We can surely try." They tapped their sandwiches together in a mock toast. Soon, they were able to laugh and talk like they used to, the time slipping away from them as if they'd never been apart.

**o()o()o**

"Hey guys!" Nami walked into Usopp and Luffy's room, smiling. She had just gotten off the phone with her sister and was excited to hear that Nojiko would be coming down for the holiday. Like Ace, Nojiko had graduated the year before and was experiencing her first year of college. "Guess what! Nojiko's coming into town on Christmas!" She looked over at Usopp's stupidly happy face. "What's up with him?"

"He's on the phone with Kaya." Luffy explained in a quiet voice. He'd been hushed by Usopp multiple times and had finally remembered to keep his voice down whenever he spoke.

"Kaya?"

"Remember that blonde girl we met last year?"

"Oh! The one that sent him those chocolates on Valentines Day?" Nami frowned a bit, her brow furrowing in thought.

Luffy nodded. "He's been on the phone with her for the past half hour. I'm soooo booored~" Luffy whined for what Nami could safely assume was not the first time.

"I love you too, Kaya~ Okay~ Goodbye~" Usopp hung up and flopped back, that stupid, wide grin never leaving his face. "Ahh~ it's so great to be in love~" He warbled, lost in thoughts of his beautiful girlfriend.

"Is she coming up again this year?" Luffy asked, glad that his friend was finally off the phone.

"No, she's gotten really sick again, but she said she got my package, and we're gonna open them together over Spyke." He rolled around with the phone clutched tight to his chest. "What did I do to deserve this happiness~?"

Nami couldn't help but smile at her friend's antics. She herself hadn't ever been in a real, reciprocated love. She'd fallen in love last year, but the guy she liked had gotten snatched away, completely unaware of her feelings. Even if she had confessed sooner, her first love already held someone in his heart.

"Hey, Nami, do you know if Robin and Franky will be here again for Christmas?" Luffy missed their crazy shop instructor and their scary strict yet equally nice history teacher, even if he didn't like taking the class, he liked her quite a bit.

"They're spending their first Christmas as newlyweds this year. Why on earth would they want to have it here?"

"But they love us..." Luffy pouted.

"Well still, I wouldn't want to spend my Christmas with my new husband hanging around a bunch of kids."

"We're not a bunch of kids to them! We're their friends too!" Luffy argued, pout growing deeper.

Nami sighed, there was simply no winning with this guy. "I know, but they probably just want it to be the two of them this year. Maybe they'll be back next year."

"Buuut~" Luffy's phone went off. He hurried to answer it. "Yo!...Yeah! Cool, okay!...Ohh~ I bet Nami is gonna love that...yeah okay...Usopp too...alright...Be there in a sec! Bye!" Luffy hung up, a huge grin stretching across his face.

"What's going on?"

Luffy's grin grew until it practically broke his face in half. "We're sneaking into the Stulo tomorrow. We're gonna watch a movie on the big TV there for Christmas eve! It's gonna be soooo cool~"

Nami's cat like grin broke out on her face. "You were tight. It sounds like a _wonderful_ idea." Sometimes is amazed her how well Luffy knew her, despite only knowing her a little over a year.

"But right now, we're gonna go over to Zoro's room to plan and play video games and eat popcorn and other yummy snacks!" Luffy enthused. Even Nami was excited about everyone spending some time together, even if it was just watching the boys play video games.

"Ahh~ Kaya~" Usopp sighed, seeming to have completely missed the entire conversation.

Nami's irritation shot up through the roof, and before she could think about what she was doing, her fist came out. "Pay attention!"

**o()o()o**

Everyone was all cozied up in Law and Zoro's room as they played games, having already figured out when and where to meet up before the break in and who would be responsible for what. It was Ace and Luffy's turn at the game, and their brotherly competitiveness shone through like never before. Sanji and Zoro were sitting close, but they didn't want to slap Ace in the face with their closeness so they maintained a respectful 5 inch distance. Saga and Law, on the other hand, were perfectly willing to cuddle. Law's possessiveness seemed to work well with Saga's tendency to cling. Law didn't want Saga going anywhere, and Saga didn't want to go anywhere. They were a good couple. Law had Saga sitting between his legs and his arms wrapped around Saga's waist. You could tell he was itching for more, but Saga had talked to him about how he wasn't quite ready for further intimacy. The kiss earlier had even been a bit too much, but Law was willing to be patient, for the moment.

Nami and Usopp were getting along quite well. They were up next for a round of Street Fighter II. Nami kept loyalty to her gender and played as the only female Character, Chun-Li, while Usopp chose someone who matched closely to his level of manliness: Zangief.

"Crouch and kick! Crouch and kick!" Zoro commanded over Nami's shoulder.

"Wahh I'm trying!" Nami jumped in the air and gave a flying kick, jumping completely over her target. She frantically began pressing buttons, viciously attacking the edge of the screen.

"Turn around, turn around!"

Nami was able to do that much at least, and unleashed a button mashing fury upon Usopp's character. Everyone was surprised to see her get an almost instant KO. "Yay! I won!"

"That was only the first round." Usopp explained. Though he quickly learned that, despite the fact that he had played this game numerous times, he was defeated by Nami's random button mashing technique.

"Yay! I won, I won!"

"Alright, now, I think we have an unsettled score, huh dartboard-brow?" Zoro smirked at the blonde sitting next to him. They'd never had a chance to have their rematch, but tonight, Sanji was going to wipe the floor with Zoro's ass.

"You're on, baka Marimo." Sanji picked Guile this time. He was still blonde, as Sanji still wanted to prove that blondes were best, but he wasn't going to be that weak-ass Ken again. Well, he wasn't sure if it was that he'd chosen a lame character or that he just sucked at the game. Either way...

Zoro picked Ryu again, and as soon as the game began, he was on Sanji, the electronic cry of "Hadouken" and "Shoryuken" played in quick succession between the swipes and smacks of more standard punches and kicks. "You're not even putting up a fight, curly-curly eyebrows."

"Shut up!" Sanji finally figured out the command for a flash kick and knocked Zoro back. The two of them battled like no tomorrow, but eventually Zoro won the first round. The tables were turned, however, when Sanji won the second round. "Heh, look at that Marimo."

"Yeah, you still haven't won." It was like only the two of them were in the room, everyone else forgotten as they fought the final match, however, the clock counted down before either one of them came to a definite victory, resulting in a dual loss. That didn't stop them from arguing.

"My bar was higher than yours when we went down! That means I won!"

"No way! you must've been looking at the bar backwards, cause I clearly had more than you!"

"Bullshit!"

"Oh, yeah? Prove it, blondie!" The two got into a playful wrestling match, crushing empty chip bags and knocking over soda cans that, thankfully, no longer had soda in them. Everyone took this as their queue to leave. It was late anyhow, and they'd be up late again tomorrow and they wanted to get good sleep.

Zoro eventually managed to pin Zoro, clamping the blonds hips with his legs and pinning his arms to the floor by the biceps. "Haha! I pinned you!"

"Okay, but I still won the match."

"No, I pinned you, therefore I won the match."

"You did NO—"

"Guys, its late, just take this back to Sanji's room." Law complained as he got ready for bed.

Sanji and Zoro's cheeks both tinged a faint red as they got up from the floor and headed downstairs, not saying anything more.

"What's gotten into them?" Saga asked from where he sat on Law's bed.

Law just shook his head. "No idea."

**o()o()o**

Sanji and Zoro sat on the edge of Sanji's bed, awkwardly glancing at each other from time to time. The silence kept piling on awkwardness until Zoro finally spoke. "I talked to Ace."

Sanji tensed a bit. "O-Oh? And how'd that go?"

"Well," Zoro sighed, "we affirmed that we've officially broken up, and we're gonna try to be friends."

Sanji smiled broadly, looking a bit like a kid in a candy store. "That's great!" He wrapped his arms around Zoro's waist and pulled him in close for a hug.

"But Sanji, about us..."

Sanji pulled away. "What about us?" He asked, hand absently rubbing up and down Zoro's side.

"I don't know if we should...you know...be together."

"Sanji felt his heart crash onto the floor. "What?" He tried not to raise his voice, but damn was it difficult. "Why not? What's wrong with us being together? We like each other, so what's the problem?"

"I just don't want you to be a bounce back..." Zoro muttered, still not looking at Sanji.

The blonde got down off the bed and kneeled in front of Zoro. "Zoro, are your feelings or whatever you have for me so shallow that you feel you only like me because I was convenient? Do you feel that the only reason you and I are here, together, is because it would give you some sort of ego boost? That's not like you at all, Zoro."

Zoro blushed, feeling sheepish, embarrassed, exposed...he didn't even know why he'd contemplated the idea that he would use Sanji in that way. He was brought out of his musings when he saw a lazy, blue eye suddenly very close to his own cinnamon ones. "I like you, Zoro. For the longest time I've fought against these feelings, but now I'll fight for them with every ounce of my power." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Zoro's. He was a little shaky with his unsettled nerves, but the reassuring hand behind his head quickly calmed him down. He pulled away and tenderly kissed Zoro a few more times, the sound of their lips smacking together was painfully loud in the completely silent room. "Come on," he whispered, "lets go to bed."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Note<span>**

I CAN MAKE IT, DAMMIT!

-PD


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